Students benefit from a year or more gain in student achievement when urban district and high school leaders commit to the implementation of the "High Schools That Work" ("HSTW") design. It is not enough to be a "HSTW" site--it is about taking effective actions to implement the design. Schools that do take action witness significant progress in…

Improving Schools--Investing in Our Future provides a foundation for improving student learning and performance, and improving aspects of schooling. Chapter (1) provides information about Alberta's well--established K-12 education system. Alberta's school-aged population is becoming more diverse with growing numbers of Aboriginal and immigrant…

This monograph is based on a keynote presentation by Angus McBeath at the "Getting Districtwide Results" Conference in Long Beach, California, which was co-sponsored by the Cross City Campaign for Urban School Reform and Focus on Results. The author, a former superintendent of the Edmonton Public Schools, how his school district was…

This monograph offers a realistic look at current trends in student achievement in science education, the participation of underrepresented populations, and the many factors that serve to sustain them. In addition, it offers new insights and concrete suggestions for change based on the analysis of recent reports and promising field-based studies.…

The Constituency Building Study created a forum for seven grantees and 14 local colleagues to share and reflect on their work. The study proceeded through a series of conversations among the participants and researchers. These conversations explored participants' views of their work; their goals, strategies, and challenges; and their achievements.…

High school reform has moved to the top of the education policy agenda, commanding the attention of the federal government, governors, urban school superintendents, philanthropists, and the general public. All are alarmed by stubbornly high dropout rates, by the low academic achievement of many high school students, and by the large numbers of…

This literature review focuses on the application of technology (primarily the computer) to education. No single vision drives the infusion of technology into the schools, although social, vocational, pedagogic, and catalytic rationales have been proposed. Technology has a role in school restructuring by standardizing and automating procedures.…

Chapters in this book address the problems faced in today's diverse neighborhoods, schools, and classrooms, as well as the opportunities diversity provides. The schools, teachers, administrators, families, and communities drawn on in these selections provide examples of the effective integration of what is known about achieving success for all…

Those engaged in school restructuring can find direction in the philosophy of W. Edwards Deming, which has guided the operations of many American corporations. This paper provides an overview of Deming's Fourteen Points of Total Quality Management (TQM) and discusses their applications to education. To develop a successful TQM system, the school…

This book is addressed to high school principals, teachers, curriculum specialists, counselors, and other educators interested in creating sound change at the building level. The theme of constructivism and constructivist thought pervades the text. Part 1 introduces the reader to constructivism and offers comparisons of a high school based on…

School councils, a school-based decision making (SBDM) form of governance, are mandated for Kentucky public schools by the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA). Commonly composed of the principal, three teachers, and two parents, the school council is designed to be a form of democratic or shared school governance. The missions of school councils…

School researchers and administrators are developing new ways to measure student skills and progress, using portfolios, self-evaluation, verbal answers to mathematics problems, and other assessment formats. This book explains the assessment reform movement and describes programs across the country that have embraced new forms of assessment.…

This book is based on a study of a 4-year reform effort in the Newark (New Jersey) public schools. The discussion focuses on an elementary school as it attempted reform in an effort that was ultimately unsuccessful. Part I opens the discussion of the effects of social class and race on educational reform. To see why inner city schools have not…

This book discusses a study of teacher communities in two middle schools. Chapter 1 examines community and teachers' work, highlighting what a teacher community is, the theory and practice of community, problems in constructing a theory of community, and reform efforts to build teacher professional communities. Chapter 2 describes the efforts of…

In 1991, the New American Schools (NAS) Development Corporation was founded by a group of business and foundation leaders interested in investing in innovative designs for school transformation. This book describes the first 3 years of development and evaluation of 9 NAS whole-school restructuring designs. The designs were very diverse, as were…